Dale Watson is incapable of hiding his roots. He’s so damn country, he started his own genre called Ameripolitan just to get away from what country music has become. There is nobody less likely skid off the tracks and abandon their country principles on this big sphere of rock hurdling through space than Dale Watson. But don’t take that to mean he’s unwilling to dabble on the periphery of twang. In fact throughout his career, his reverence to the sounds of Memphis, Tennessee—from Johnny Cash to Elvis Presley and the rockabilly Gods of Sun Studios—has inferred his sound just as strongly as Merle Haggard.

Whether it’s his singing style, his high arching silver pompadour, or even down to specific songs and albums Dale’s recorded over the years like his Dalevis project from 2012, Dale Watson has always had the soul of Memphis coursing through his blood and music. Dale even has a dedicated rockabilly category as part of his annual Ameripolitan Awards.

Now a part-time resident of Memphis, it makes sense that the sound of the city would make the basis of Dale’s latest record, Call Me Lucky. Living right down the road from Graceland, and not too far away from Sun Studios, the styles, the modes, the singing, and the lyrical phrasing that are all indicative of Memphis in the mid 50’s is what makes up the chemistry of Call Me Lucky, though the steel guitar and twang of traditional country—or Ameripolitan—are still present. The title track of the album is about scoring big by standing in between two beautiful women. Similarly, Dale takes the best of Memphis rockabilly and soul, and mixes it with the honky tonk twang of his other home of Austin, TX, and tries to make Call Me Lucky the best of both worlds.

From the modulating chord changes of “The Dumb Song” with its Luther Perkins boom chicka boom guitar style, to the brass and swing beat of “Tupelo, Mississippi & a 57 Fairlane” (Elvis was born in Tupelo, if you didn’t know), to even the style of a song about a farmer trucker from West Texas named “David Buxkemper,” this record employs all the nostalgic signifyers to the vintage Memphis sound to awaken nostalgic yearning in the listener.

Yet there’s also some interesting textures to make Call Me Lucky unique to itself. World famous harmonica player Mickey Raphael of Willie Nelson’s Family Band is all over this record, and instead of blowing blues harp in the Memphis way, he sticks to his own thing, which is a sound all to itself, and immediately recognizable. This keeps a little touch of Texas in Call Me Lucky, as does the song “Restless,” which bucks the Memphis thing altogether, and instead sounds eerily similar to Waylon Jennings, all the way down to the Ralph Mooney-style steel guitar licks.

Call Me Lucky is all about the presentation, from the Daddy-O rockabilly vibes, to the honky tonk textures, with the lyrics working to fit the style as opposed to vice versa. This is what’s cool about Call Me Lucky, and also what holds it back. The writing feels a bit uninspired at times, leaning on tropes and being more interpretive of an era as opposed to original expressions set to vintage music. The writing also has its moments, like in the final song “Mama’s Smile,” but overall the songwriting of Call Me Lucky leaves something to be desired. Conversely, Watson’s smooth, classic American drawl, warble, and delivery have never been as buttery. He really sings the hell out of this record, even if the results might sound schtick-y to some.

Dale Watson has always taken a pretty loose approach to album making, not pouring years into projects, but writing a gaggle of songs and cutting them in the studio in a matter of days. Many of his records are traditional country with no shtick, while others like his Truckin’ Sessions series are all about building fun songs based around a specific style or theme. Call Me Lucky is the latter. And though it feels a little light on substance, it prevails as a fun listen.

don’t know a ton about Dale Watson ….not real familiar with his catalogue . What I have heard over the years always came across as generic , to my ear . ” Restless ” is a good example of that sounding like Waylon singing Marty Stuart’s ” Tempted ” complete with phased tele .
” Dumb Song ” is very Cash , of course .

If that’s Dale’s thing overall , whether out of respect or seeing a void that needs to be filled , more power to him . The songs and performances sound terrific …..I’d listen to this long before a lot of other ‘ country ‘ stuff . But for me it lacks some sincerity , some vision/artistry …. some ” Dale ” whomever that is .

His sweet spot was 95-06. Whiskey or God (2006) is still a great album. I haven’t really followed his career since unless Trig posts something about it. I’ll chrck out Call Me Lucky based on Trig’s review.

Watson also does the truckin’ genre justice. If you wanted to explore further, Whiskey or God or the original Truckin Sessions.

Albert
You have impeccable taste. I agree with you 9/10 times in your comments. But if Dale to you is insincere or just a tribute act I think your missing out on the depth of his catalog and as a real country fan you owe it to yourself to mine that sucker. ( The catalog) In addition to the other suggestions here check out I Hate These Songs, Blessed or Damned, Carryin On, Call Me Insane for starters. Oh yeah, Dreamland, another great one. And of course go see him live. I honestly think you will thank me. Hes one of the good guys on our team, so to speak and hes one of the true honky-tonkers, the real deal.

Dale Watson’s the real deal. “Blessed or Damned,” “I Hate These Songs” et al were some of the best albums of the ’90s. And Dale wrote all–or almost all–the songs that he sang. The title songs, “Truck Stop in La Grange,” “Cowboy Lloyd Cross.” And he’s a great vocalist, to boot.
Sorry, Dale was so good that Kris could’ve sang, “If You Don’t Like Dale Watson, You Can Kiss My Ace.”

Sometimes less is more…the harmonica is too prominent & loud on a couple of tracks.
The songs are a mix of country (the duet “Johnny & June” with Celine Lee) & rockabilly.
The majority of tracks are under 3 minutes. Dale Watson is not a friend of 5 min. songs with endless solos. His voice is getting better with time.
I want to like the album…but the harmonica is overused.

New Albums:
Casey Baker – When The Party’s All Over – Album – 10 Tracks – Released (01/11)
First (?) album of Texas-artist Casey Baker & she sounds great. A winner. More on the traditional side of country music (with a lot of steel & fiddle). First single “It Was Only Me” is a new entry on the Texas Top 100 (#93).

The Powell Brothers – Leave On The Light – Album – 10 Tracks – Released (02/15)
Two brothers from Houston with a couple of singles on the Texas Top 100. The album mixes country-pop (“Somewhere Down The Road”) with country-rock (“Darling”). Ok but not outstanding.

The Bellamy Brothers – Over The Moon – Album – 14 Tracks – Released (02/15)
Still good for mid-pack positions on the Texas Top 100 the Bellamy Brothers in the year 2019 still sound like the Bellamy Brothers 20 or 30 years ago. Country(-pop) & harmony vocals.
Nothing new under the sun…well…moon.

The problem with the harmonica is it’s not too loud, it’s too Mickey Raphael, and his style is so distinct and gorgeous it’s what your ears gravitate towards. I think Dale wanted to put some harmonica on this record to bring out the blues aspect of Memphis, looked for players, and settled on Mickey because he’s the best in the business. The problem is it doesn’t really blend with everything else going on. That said, I will never knock adding Mickey Raphael to anything.

Man, some of you are tough, I’ve been a Dale fan for over 20 years and he is the most genuine and talented country artist to come along in a long time. Before you comment , check out his entire catalog, which is extensive and well worth listening to.

He should be a huge star if he bowed down to the establishment, but has been his own man and did it his way, like it or not.

He is playing up here in NJ in a couple of weeks along with Kinky Friedman and I’m sure we will all get our money’s worth to great original music and being able to hang out with a truly great man and under appreciated artist who has stayed true to his roots, That’s a big 10-4!

I’m with you. I don’t get why SCM regulars don’t or won’t acknowledge Dale. If I had to name one guy who is the definition of heart and soul blood and guts country music aside from the legends, it’s Dale. Go see him live folks.

Yes, but live and recorded are two different things. I totally agree Dale is killer live, but that doesn’t always translates to his records. I think this is a fine album, but I do think Dale could benefit from taking his studio projects a little more seriously.

Guess I’m gonna have to be a Dale apologist here. Not that he needs one mind you.
For the naysayers here, question. Have you seen him live? His voice if anything is sounding incredible with each passing year. His band is everything a honky tonk band should be. His telecaster playing, coupled with Don Pawlaks steel work is rich.

Songwriting ? Explore his catalog, a lot of great writing to be found. I could compile a list and maybe I should.
Vocals. I put his voice up there with Merle and George. I have taken folks with me to see him live over the years and some were skeptics, but every single person after the show has admitted the greatness and talent.
I think some of you armchair fans maybe don’t go to concerts much. You judge an artist by a stray song here or there. Yall love to sing the praises of Tyler Childers or Cody Jinks as saviors of the genre, but you are overlooking a guy who’s been doing it for a long time. Don’t get me wrong, the new group of traditionalists coming through are great, but man don’t overlook what Dale continues to do. He’s a tremendous artist worthy of listening.

People generally go to concerts to see people they know they like. Dale may very well be an incredible live act, but why would people that don’t care for his recorded output ever be inclined to go see him?

I recently saw Dale with Wayne “the Train” Hancock as an opener. Wayne ran circles around Dale, as Wayne was raw and authentic and passionate, and even though his band wasn’t a tight or as smoothe as Dale’s, he came across a lot better. Many folks in the audience left part way through Dale’s set.

As another reader mentioned, Dale just seems generic. Which ain’t bad, but I guess that often tends to mean boring. He puts on a good show, but there’s not a lot going on.

I’m going to like this one. First saw Dale in the upper midwest in 1991 thereabouts. He and his band tore the house down and was like a walking talking jukebox in taking requests and playing them right on a dime. His early records are smart and funny, but I lost track of him after a while. He’s a guy who not only knows but loves his roots, and today, that’s saying something. I always thought his singing style was a bit of an act and too much of a nod to his heroes, but over time he’s clearly made it his own. He’s not a bullsh*tter about any of this music and knows it top to bottom. He’s a little fella, too. Scrappy, heart of gold type.

Tough crowd for sure. Dale is as genuine as they come. All around great guy with a wholesome respect for the music of past generations. I would and I have argued that Dale is the real king of country music on more than one occasion.

Sure, he seems to be experimenting a little with some different sounds. He’s still in the realm of creative rights and not crossing into something he isn’t in order to score radio plays or record sales, though.

Dale is Country. He is everything this site is about. Saw Dale last year in Denver and on the last song of the night, he thanked evertone and then jumped off the front of the stage, walked up the center isle and ou to the lobby. Dale stood at the exit doors so that everyone there had to pass him and talk to him as they left.
Love this record!

Dale Watson has ALWAYS explored everything roots Country has to offer. Whether it’s Honky Tonk, Western Swing, Rockabilly or Outlaw Country, he has always mixed it up, some records more than others. Rockabilly is as Country Music as Western Swing and Outlaw Country are. I’m not here to slam anyone or their opinions, but y’all need to learn your Country Music history, maybe then you’ll understand what Dale is about and what he’s doing.

Dale has a wicked sense of humor, but also some real depth. That’s what I like about him. I think this new album is just a more light hearted record. Some great records IMHO that cover the light and heavy are:
Cheatin’ Heart Attack, Blessed or Damned, Whiskey or God, Live in London England,
People I’ve Known Places I’ve Been and all of the Trucker Sessions are great.

His voice, writing and playing all mine the classic corners of roots music mentioned above by JP Cyr: Honky Tonk, Western Swing, Rockabilly or Outlaw Country. He can pull off any with ease.

I can see why some might dismiss him on casual listen, thinking he’s just aping the past. But he’s been through some shit – divorce, losing a love of a lifetime to a car accident and quitting music I believe for a several years in the 2000s. He’s got some great, great songs, heavy and light. Again, that’s why I love him, he covers a lot of life ground and does the classic country stuff as well as anybody. Live, he and his band are insanely good! Revisit Live in London, England.

Hmmm, Dale isn’t someone that I’ve really taking the time to dig into. I see posts here about him from time to time but he never really jumps up on my radar for some reason. I’ll have to take some time to dig into his catalog. The two songs above sound like something I’d like.